U.S. patent application Ser. No. 478,891 (filed Mar. 25, 1983) now abandoned, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 779,878 (filed Sept. 17, 1985) now U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,989, are incorporated herein by reference and disclose a method and an apparatus for adjusting and mounting optical components in optical devices. The optical component is connected to the device during the adjusting process only by means of an adjusting apparatus that is not part of the device. After the adjusting operation, the optical component or its mount is joined to the device by a liquid or paste-like substance, which self-hardens with little change in volume. The optical component or its mount and the device are configured for this purpose such that between them a form-tight, force-tight or adhering-tight connection is provided. After the optical component has been permanently fixed, the adjusting device is removed.
To assure that the optical component is sufficiently moveable for the adjusting operation, there must also be enough space between it, or its mount, and the device, where the connection with the self-hardening substance takes place. The relatively large volume or layer thicknesses required thereby have the effect that during the self-hardening process, slight misadjustments can again occur, and that in the fixed state, because of the thermal coefficients of expansion which are not precisely alike, slight misadjustments can arise from thermal influences. The known method therefore has the disadvantage of being insufficiently reliable in view of the very stringent requirements for adjustment accuracy and long-term stability.